Top 3 Most Anticipated Music Albums for 2015

Ok guys, despite the fact that 2014 only saw the release of two Platinum albums by Taylor Swift and Sam Smith, 2015 should will see the release of a number of anticipated albums. Here's a countdown of the 5 most anticipated albums of this new year.


1) Rihanna- New Album
   Possible Title - R8 

Rihanna's last new album was released on November 19th, 2012. Previously known for releasing a new album album every year, Rihanna purposefully too a two year hiatus from releasing albums, which has lead to great anticipation from her fans and the general public for new material. On January 24th, 2015 a new single titled 'FourFiveSeconds' featuring Paul McCartney and Kanye West was released, featuring a new folk and acoustic sound fans are not used to hearing from the Bajan bombshell.

2) Drake- Views From The 6

Drake's last album titled 'Nothing Was The Same', was released on September 24th, 2013. The following year saw drake focus more on tours and features. Additionally 2014 saw drake further cement his status as CO-SIGN KING with his artistes PartyNextDoor and ILOVEMAKONNEN. This year he'll be releasing his follow up to NWTS (Which has sold over 1.5 Million copies in the US alone), an album tentatively titled 'Views From The Six'.

3) Kendrick Lamar- New Album

Kendrick Lamar released a unique album in 2012. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. Instantly hailed as a classic album, even leading to Macklemore (2014 Best Rap Album Grammy Winner) apologizing to him for beating Kendrick in the category. Anticipation for his follow up has been high, with pressure mounting after it's lead single 'i' was perceived to have been a flop. Will King Kendrick have a sophomore classic? Time will tell

The Power Of The Drake Co-Sign

Aubrey 'Drake' Graham, aka Drizzy Drake is a Canadian rap superstar. He's sold countless records and lives on the Billboard charts. But there's one thing about Drake that separates him from others, and that seemingly is his ability to bestow upon someone the prized commodity known as 'BUZZ'.

Drake trying to decide which artiste he should co-sign next.

BUZZ is that one thing every underground artiste desires to make the jump from unknown to mainstream. And there is no other artiste in recent time with the ability to bestow upon others, significant buzz quite like Drake. Let's look at his first co-sign success, The Weeknd.

The Weeknd ( Real name Abel Tesfaye)



Though initially unknown, having quietly released songs like 'What You Need' and 'Loft Music' to YouTube, The Weeknd's profile rapidly rose via coverage on Drake's OVO Blog. Fast forward four years later and The Weeknd now has his own distribution deal with Republic, an estimated personal wealth of five million dollars and a loyal fan base.



Now I'm not saying The Weeknd would not have been successful without Drake, as his talent would ultimately had seen him rise to the top regardless of a co-sign, but in today's industry, a co-sign from an artiste of Drake's magnitude is an incredible leg up. Future co-signs for 'Migos' (Versace) and  more recently for Dej Loaf (Try Me) all further prove my point. However only recently has the power of the Drake co-sign been cemented into LEGENDARY status. Ladies and gentleman I give you 'ILOVEMAKONNEN

'

Makonnen Sheran is a 25 year old artiste, who In July of 2014 self released his debut EP 'ILOVEMAKONNEN'. In late August 2014, not only did Drake like one of Makonnen's songs in 'Tuesday', he liked it so much that he asked it's producer Sonny Digital if he could do a remix to it, which he quickly recorded and released. Ultimately Makonnen would be signed to his label OVO Sound, however what makes this particular co-sign legendary is the fact that within a space of 6 months 'ILOVEMAKONNEN' went from underground artiste to GRAMMY NOMINATED artiste, with 'Tuesday ft Drake' receiving a nomination in the best rap/sung category. All hail Drake, the KING OF CO-SIGN.

Fashion Look of the Day (Jan 21st, 2015)

In my opinion the following look applies well to every skin tone, and once perfectly tailored will make you stand out in a crowd. Ladies and gentlemen, the TAN SUIT.

John Legend killed it, pairing the suit a salmon colored tie.

Ryan Gosling chose to go tie free for his look

President Obama caused controversy last year for wearing this tan suit during his State of The Union Address.

The Top 5 Best Trinidadian Non-Soca releases of 2014

Trinidad and Tobago is a country rich with talent, the main money making genre of music however, remains to be 'Soca'. Never the less, there are lots of artistes from the island that believe the genres of music that they do, should not be limited by their country of  birth. Here is a list of the TOP 5 non-soca releases of 2014 in no particular order.

1) Nah Boy- Mark Hardy x Yung Rudd 

Favourite line 'Haters get jelly like buying a coconut round the savannah'

Much like their 2013 release 'Pumpin', 'Nah Boy' finds Mark Hardy and Yung Rudd further pushing their sound which they have dubbed as 'Trapso'. Nah Boy is the perfect song to play on your way to the club, or for going hard in the gym.

2) 'Tumbling Down'- Detnator & a_phake

Favourite line 'I keep lying to sell my self some more'

Denator and a_phake began working on 'Only A Fool' the EP long before 2014, but when it was finally released in November 2014, one of it's stand  out tracks was the guitar laced 'Tumbling Down'

                              CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO TUMBLING DOWN

3) 'Temptation'- Nebula868

Favourite line 'So much pretty gyal for me to pick one, should I go with Gillian or Crystal'

Nebula868 reunite with their 'Amped Up' producer Track 7 and delivers one of their best singles to date with 'Temptation'. Smooth production and witty word play made the song an instant hit in early 2014.

                                           

4) 'In These Skies'- Annalie Prime

Favourite line 'In these skies there's no flying'

Annalie Prime is a 20 year old singer/songwriter from central Trinidad and Tobago. Last year she released her debut EP 'Annalie' on soundcloud. A mix of covers sprinkled with some original releases. Stand out track 'In These Skies' is an acoustic guitar driven song, which showcases this young artiste's potential.

                                                    LISTEN TO 'In These Skies' HERE 

5) 'GO$$!P'- Jimmy October

Favourite line ' Why ya talk so much? I'm just tryna get a fade and a cut'

OverDose Music Group co-founder Jimmy October released his debut single 'GO$$!P' fittingly in the month of October of 2014. A choir sampling instrumental courtesy producer Noah, is the perfect sound scape for Mr. October to officially announce his arrival to Trinbagonian airwaves.

                                                  

How To Cope With Being Unfollowed on Instagram

Instagram is a wonderful place. Where else can you go to get a carefully edited view of someone's life? Instagram has a way of making normal every day people feel like celebrities. With each double tap, an ego inflates by a tiny bit. The first thousand followers are the hardest, or so I've been told.

So you're well on your way to achieving 'Instagram fame' which puts you in the same category as a doubles man and a Trinidadian Politician, when suddenly you start losing followers. GASP!! Worst yet you have no idea who is unfollowing you. Ultimately this leads to depression.

Why am I being unfollowed?

That was then, nowadays people have a little app called 'Followers', an app that tracks every single person that's unfollowed you. Now you can put a face to those that have wronged you. Revenge is oh so sweet.

Followers. Basically an app that snitches on people.




Being the vindictive person that you are, the only reasonable response to an unfollow is OBVIOUSLY to unfollow them aswell. But you're so ticked off that you take it one step further, you unfollow them on ALL social media sites, Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, You may even go so far as to avoid them in public, not even making the effort to give them an acknowledging nod. This in your mind is the only way to cope with being unfollowed. Power to the people, thanks 'Followers' app. 

How To Create The Perfect Carnival Fete (Part 1)

Carnival 2015 is in full swing, and with such a short season EVERY SINGLE fete is planned months in advance as to go off without a hitch. Carnival crowds are simple people, give them loud music, quintessential soca act (Insert Machel Montano) and loads and loads of alcohol. HOWEVERRRR in my limited and none scientific research, I do believe I have found the exact ingredients for the PERFECT soca fete.


Ingredient 1.- The Live Performers

The live performer is important to the soca fete, even though admittedly a lot more party goers actually prefer DJ's over live acts. It helps if you have all the 'hottest' acts at your party. But not just that you can pull a 'Fantasy 2015' and have one premier act perform EXCLUSIVELY at your function for the night. Ok ok basically just get Machel aka Monk Monte and ya good to go. Make sure and display his name LARGE AS FUDGEEE on the ticket.


Ingredient 2- Novelty factor. (ADD WATER & POWER)

Ok so you've got your act, but what will draw people to your brand new fete? Simple, something novelty like colored power and water. And before you gooo ooooh you're just stealing Soaka's plot, actually I'll have you know that at the 'Perfect' carnival fete I'm thinking about Major Lazer concert type water, so ha I win.

'Years & Years' Primed for 2015 Success

The year 2014 saw the breakthrough of a few acts, Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea and UK artiste SAM SMITH. Opening for SAM SMITH on tour last year was a small band by the name of 'Years and Years'. Consisting of lead vocalist Olly Alexander, bassist Mike Goldsworthy (awesome last name btw) and synth player Emre Turkmen.

I stumbled upon Years & Years late 2014, the first offering I heard from them was the melody filled, dance ready, joy inducing 'Desire'. I immediately rushed to find more material from the band, discovering cuts such as 'Take Shelter' and 'Real'. How was it I had never heard about them earlier? After all they had been releasing music since 2012. Well as it so turns out 2014 was a breakthrough year for Years and Years, with the release of the aforementioned 'Real', whose music video features a dance scene featuring actor Ben Whishaw (Q from the 2012 James Bond film 'Skyfall'). Noting that their admiration of R&B (Which I can hear in their song 'Memo'), they signed to Polydor Record in the UK and were most recently named BBC radio's Sound Of 2015 winners. Yup, a bright 2015 is surely on the horizon for this band, hopefully they can ride this wave for years and years to come